Enneagram Type 9 (A complete guide)

In this article, we will discuss Enneagram Type 9. We will discuss their fears, desires, and the approach they take towards emotions. We shall also discuss their strengths, weaknesses, stressors, motivations, and areas of growth. Finally, we shall shed a light on their job, romantic relationships, and how their childhood played a role in shaping up their personality. 

Enneagram Type 9

People with a type 9 personality are quite accepting in their behavior. They adapt to different situations and generally maintain a positive outlook on life. Their priority is to maintain external and internal peace which explains their tendency to avoid conflicts. They prefer to spend their time alone or with a small group of people, they are close to.

Enneagrams

Enneagrams are a map or typology of human personalities. It was developed by George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, Oscar Ichazo, and Claudio Naranjo. It has nine personality types that are split across 3 triads i.e. Feeling triad, Thinking Triad, or Instinctive Triad. 

It describes a person’s fundamental psychological orientation based on the triad quality i.e. emotion, intellect, or instincts most characteristic of his or her personality. 

Enneagram Type 9: The peacemaker

Basic fear 

Type 9 personalities are afraid of losing their support system and being separated from them in any way. To prevent that from happening, they try hard to avoid conflict and maintain harmony. For this, they even adapt according to other people’s preferences and requirements while keeping their own preferences at the back end.

Basic desire 

Type 9 personalities want to have peace in their lives. They strive for harmony in every aspect of their life as well as in their interactions with the world.

Type 9 and emotions

People with type 9 personalities have a tendency to avoid their emotions. They often suppress them along with their needs to a point of feeling numb and apathetic. They do this by engaging in distraction strategies such as eating, reading, watching television, etc. 

The Strengths of Type 9

Type 9 has many strengths. These include the following:

• They have the capacity to see the world from multiple perspectives which makes them quite open-minded and accepting of different opinions.
• In most situations, they maintain their calm and composure. They adapt according to the situation without much difficulty.
• They have a way of making others around them feel at ease since they reassure and encourage them.
• They are quite good at handling conflict between two parties and usually act as a mediator.
• They keep an open mind and do not jump to conclusions about others. Rather, they suspend their judgment.

The Weaknesses of Type 9

Type 9 also has many weaknesses. These include the following:

• They struggle with facing conflict with others especially if they are close to them.
• In order to protect themselves from the gravity of different situations, they tend to minimize certain problems
• They usually avoid situations that are difficult or upsetting in any way.
• At times, they can be passive-aggressive in their communication as well as their behavior. They opt to do that instead of facing a conflict head-on.

If you’re facing this, it may be a good idea to seek the help of a therapist or other mental health professional. You can find a therapist at BetterHelp who can help you learn how to cope and address it.

Possible areas of growth for Type 9

Type 9 can grow as a person by the following:

• They need to learn to stop avoiding conflicts and accept them as an essential part of life.
• It is important that these personalities engage in physical activity in order to connect with their bodies.
• To be able to directly face and address an upsetting topic, can be something they can benefit from by learning.
• It is essential that these people try to face and work through their emotions instead of avoiding them.

Source of Stress 

Type 9 gets stressed by the following:

• Since they try to keep everyone around them happy, situations, where they turn out disappointing their loved ones, can be stressful for them.
• They particularly face difficulty when making important decisions.
• Although they are good listeners, when someone doesn’t listen to them or ignore them, they get upset.
• A Lot of the time, bottling up emotions and not expressing them can be hard for them.

Motivations

They are energized by the following:

• These people get energized when the areas of their life have stability, predictability, and consistency.
• When they are able to bring two groups on the same page, they feel happy and of use. 
• Similarly, being able to resolve tensions and conflicts, helps them feel calm and accomplished.
• When other people accept them for who they are, value their opinions, and make them feel safe in their presence, these personalities feel at peace.

Workplace and job

Type 9 personalities work best in environments that are stable and give them the opportunity to be of use to others. They like work that is slow-paced and enables them to connect to others at a deeper level.  

They get energized by their work if they are asked by someone for help or consulted on a personal manner. Similarly, if their boss asks them their thoughts or advice on a matter, it can be quite motivating for them. When their colleagues are open with them and direct reports appreciate their work and consider them warm, they feel quite happy.

.However, work can be a struggle for them if it is fast-paced and with a lot of politics. When they are not on good terms with their boss and when their colleagues dismiss their opinions or ideas, they can feel quite ignored. If they are pushed back by others, they feel upset and demotivated. 

Overall, Type nine personalities are encouraging and supportive in their manner. They are good listeners and patient in their approach. Their passion for peacemaking enables them to work well as counselors, social workers, psychiatrists, librarians, diplomats, etc. 

Romantic Relationships

In romantic relationships,  people with type nine personalities can make excellent partners who are supportive and understanding. They are good for encouraging those people who often feel misunderstood and disconnected from others. It is however important, that these people take the initiative and turns in making important decisions instead of leaving everything up to their spouse. It is also important that they express their needs and preferences directly to them.

These personalities contribute open-mindedness to their relationship. They can adapt to different circumstances quite easily and see the world from their spouse’s end. This makes them naturally understanding and supportive. 

However, they can struggle in their relationship especially if they have to make difficult decisions and face emotionally loaded issues. Similarly, having tough discussions with their partner and having to express their mind and opinions no matter how unpopular they are, can be hard for them to do. 

Type 9 Childhood/development

 In childhood, people with type none personalities were connected to their parents and felt protected and nurtured. However, if their family had frequent conflicts and disagreements, they learned to tune out the problems. Suppressing and numbing their emotions was their go-to option. Since they had natural empathy and could understand their parents, they tried to make them happy in their own way. However, as it was not completely possible to make things alright, they tried to live in denial and numbed out everything negative in their life. 

They frequently used distraction strategies to avoid listening to their parent’s arguments. They would also try to use their hobbies to keep themself busy and not face their negative feelings. As they felt so connected to their parents, their identity got enmeshed with them, and learned to stay in the background while denying their feelings. They learned that their contribution was not important. However, with time, as they grow up, they can learn to let go of that idea and start to voice out their feelings and concerns.

 FAQs: Type 9

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed enneagram Type 9. We found that people with a type 9 personality are quite accepting in their behavior. They adapt to different situations and generally maintain a positive outlook on life. Their priority is to maintain external and internal peace which explains their tendency to avoid conflicts. They prefer to spend their time alone or with a small group of people, they are close to.

I hope you found this article interesting. If you have any queries or comments, please state them in the comment section 😊

Citations

https://www.psychologyjunkie.com/2020/03/10/the-childhood-wounds-of-every-enneagram-type/#

Personality Types – Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery by Don Richard Riso with Russ Hudson

The Wisdom of the Enneagram by Don Richard Riso and Russ Huds